An interesting hour at the preschool yesterday
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238325)
Walnut Creek, California
June 11, 2019 10:18am CST
Yesterday afternoon, a little girl (aged 4) and I were building "tall buildings" at the Lego table. I "modeled" my method for making tall buildings, and she (more or less) imitated it.
When her parents picked her up, two boys (also aged 4) came over and decided that our tall buildings were lunch boxes. I became "daddy" and put "lunch" (Legos that were of a different color than the [yellow] tall building/lunch boxes) in the lunch boxes.
The boys then went to "school" (the carpet area), where they practiced baseball swings (that was school to them). Then they came home and I gave them milk (white Legos) and they went to pretend sleep.
A little girl (aged 4) came over and joined us, making a smaller lunch box. She joined the boys and we played this game for literally an hour until all of the kids had been picked up.
A couple of things struck me about our free play. One was that it confirmed the incredible power of children's imaginations. Another was that I was glad to see boys playing "family" and the original little girl doing "construction" without it turning into "family."
If you work with kids long enough, you'll notice that some stereotypes are true. Boys do tend to "build things" or "be superheroes" more, while girls are more likely to be princesses, take care of "babies," or play family.
Any thoughts?
13 people like this
11 responses
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
11 Jun 19
aw, i sort'a envy ya this task. young'uns this age're like lil sponges. i ne'er wished to be a princess??? preferrin' to build schtuff'n go'n 'dventures'n my mind. what a fun time! what i found 'nterestin' 's those boys wishin' to take pretend naps, lol.
1 person likes this
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
12 Jun 19
@TheHorse lol, why 'f course! 'tis yer fault if'n ya think 'bout 't. ya bein' a young'un 't heart 'n really listenin' to 'em.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238325)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Jun 19
@crazyhorseladycx That's pretty much all I do. Join in their fantasises, set appropriate boundaries, and LISTEN to their stories. Genius, huh?
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
11 Jun 19
That's so great - I love the way you place with kids 
!
I do think there are certain truths to stereotypes - not for all kids/people but for "many" - and that's how it becomes a stereotype (it's generalizing). For both my kids, they do and don't fall under the stereotypes. My daughter never cared to do much building - but she was not a princess/taking care of baby type gal (in fact, she liked witches/bad guy female characters 
). My son still loves to build - but he hates super hero characters 
.
!
I do think there are certain truths to stereotypes - not for all kids/people but for "many" - and that's how it becomes a stereotype (it's generalizing). For both my kids, they do and don't fall under the stereotypes. My daughter never cared to do much building - but she was not a princess/taking care of baby type gal (in fact, she liked witches/bad guy female characters ). My son still loves to build - but he hates super hero characters .1 person likes this
I wonder what all that says about a developing personality - about not being into superheroes. The boys that I see like that tend to be creative thinkers - they can problem solve outside the box.
@wolfgirl569 (135819)
• Marion, Ohio
12 Jun 19
I had what would be called normal boys for the most part. But if I had had girls they would have probably been little tom boys. I just dont do any of the so called girl stuff myself. I do think a lot comes from what they see adults doing in their lives.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135819)
• Marion, Ohio
12 Jun 19
@TheHorse I know my own boys were never surprised when they met girl construction workers or truck drivers. But at one time I trained my own horses which is still mostly a mans field. So they just grew up with it as normal. I also fixed my own cars until they started putting all that computer crap on them.
But I have seen kids that seem to lean one way despite how they are raised. But more that seem to match how they are raised. Little Adeline seems to love it all right now. Her 2 favorite toys here are a doll house and a monster truck
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238325)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Jun 19
@wolfgirl569 Sounds like a good balance!
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14756)
• San Jose, California
11 Jun 19
I recognize her! She's getting big!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (91130)
• United States
11 Jun 19
I was pretty much a tomboy growing up and even though my brother was younger I wanted to tag along and do all the things he did.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21845)
• Canada
12 Jun 19
I think the parents today are smarter than we were when the kids were young. Boys were boys and girls were girls...I'm all for them playing with both, it will make them better humans....
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